carpenter's scene

Definition

Theater

In the Victorian theater, a short scene acted in front of abackcloth while the stage crew changed the set behind it. This wasfelt to be an improvement on the blackout introduced for scenery changesby David Garrick. It was no longer necessary once the practice oflowering the front curtain between scene changes was standardized.Today the carpenter's scene only remains in the pantomime or spectacularmusical, where it is often a short musical number.